US Stocks Rally on Weak Jobs Data, S&P 500 Nears Record

US non-farm payrolls added only 29,000 jobs in September, far below the 90,000 consensus, yet Wall Street rallied with the S&P 500 near a record high and Nasdaq leading gains. The market interpreted the weak data as increasing the likelihood of Federal Reserve rate cuts, overriding growth concerns. This marks a shift in market focus from inflation to labor market weakness as the primary driver of Fed policy.